Ornamental railing



L. BLUM ETAL ORNAMENTAL RAILING Nov. 7, 1967 all; J1:

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ORNAMENTAL RAILING 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 20, 1965 United States Patent 3,351,324 ORNAMENTAL RAILING Louis Blum and William J. Horgau, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to Blumcraft of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.,

:1 firm Filed Dec. 20, 1965, Ser. No. 515,008 3 Claims. (Cl. 25668) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to the construction of an ornamental railing and more particularly to the construction of an ornamental metal railing made up of a plurality of interconnected parts.

In the construction of buildings in which ornamental railings are used, it has been customary to design stairways and railings for the stairways, then to construct the stairway and mount the fabricated railing on the stairway. It is not uncommon for discrepancies to develop between the stairway drawings and the stairways as actually constructed and installed. Any such change makes it diflicult or impossible to mount the fabricated railing in accordance with the original plans. It is, therefore, extremely desirable in the field of ornamental railings to have the highest degree of adj ustability possible in the railings themselves so as to enable adjustment of the fabricated railings during installation on the pre-constructed stairway.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide an attractive ornamental railing made up of a plurality of interchangeable parts providing a great degree of adjustability of the railing during erection.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an adjustable ornamental railing wherein the parts are of minimal width and without bulk providing a pleasing and attractive ornamental appearance. In carrying out the above objects, applicants have devised a specific embodiment of their invention which is illustrated in the drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an ornamental railing made according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view partially in cross-section and partially broken away illustrating a single post and associated handrail made in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a View along the line III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the parts of the railing post connected to the handrail which are shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a view along the line VV of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view within the reference section VI of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 showing a different form of mounting structure;

FIG. 8 is a perspective View partially in cross-section and partially broken away showing an alternative form of mounting.

In FIG. 1 is illustrated a typical stairway in a building construction and associated with the stairway is an ornamental railing made in accordance with the present invention. The railing is shown mounted along the edges of the stair treads T and along the sides of a balcony B.

The railing comprises a plurality of posts 10 and an associated handrail 11. One of the posts 10 is illustrated in FIG. 2. The bottom portion of the post 10 is anchored through the right angle bottom portion in the side of the stair tread. Alternative mountings are shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 8. The means for connecting the handrail 11 to the post 10 is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. The post 10 has a vertical connector element 12 extending upwardly therefrom. This element is rounded at the top and has a projecting tip 13. The width of the element 12 is less than the Width of the post 10 and the additional width is made up by the width of the connector element 14 which is complementary to the vertically extending element 12 and has an outwardly extending portion 15 and a rounded projection 16. In mounting the railing 11 on the connector elements, the surface 17 of element 14 is placed flush against the corresponding surface of element 12. This provides a rounded surface having projecting tips 13 and 16 spaced so as to fit within the channel 18 in the lower portion of the handrail 11. When these elements are placed within the channel 18, bolt 19 is inserted through the element 14 and is threaded into the body of vertical element 12, forcing the outwardly projecting portion of element 14 into locking engagement with the under-cut portion of channel 18 of the handrail 11. The vertically extending element 12 is inserted within the upper portion of post It) and is held in place by means of set screws 20.

In FIG. 5 the connection between the post 10 and the lower mounting bracket 21 is illustrated wherein the mounting bracket 21 is inserted within the post 10 and is held in place by means of set screws 22. The bracket 21 is in turn inserted in an element 24 which is fixed in an opening within the side of a stair tread T and is held in place by means of bolt 23. The bolt 23 not only is threadably engaged in the retainer element 24 within the side of the stair tread but also produces a binding engagement by virtue of the interaction between the two elements 25 and 26 which meet along the slanted line 27. By virtue of the pressure exerted through the element 26 upon turning the bolt 23, the two elements 25 and 26 are forced together, tending to force them outwardly against the inner surfaces of the retaining element 24, thus forming a binding engagement.

One of the principal advantages of the present railing construction is provided in the connecting means illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. By virtue of the particular construction of the various parts illustrated therein, the handrail may be formed with the connecting elements 12 and 14 depending therefrom. These elements may be put in place within the numerous post elements 10 and then the angle of the handrail 11 along the stair or balcony may be adjusted to suit the conditions of the stairway, and finally, the railing is fixed rigidly in place by engaging the bolt 19, locking the elements 12 and 14 within the channel 18 in the under-side of handrail 11. Until this locking engagement is made, the position of the handrail may be varied by virtue of the relationship between the channel 18 and the rounded upper surfaces of elements 12 and 14.

It will of course be understood that many variations other than those specifically illustrated in the above embodiment may be produced by employing the principles of the present invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ornamental railing having a post and handrail connected thereto, the improvement comprising: connecting means disposed between said handrail and said post and coacting with said handrail to permit angular adjustment of the handrail and to rigidly fix the handrail in adjusted position with respect to the post, said connecting means comprising, a first connecting element attached to and extending upwardly from the post and having an elongated rounded upper terminal surface with a rounded projection extending from one side thereof; a second connecting element disposed beside said first connecting element, having an upwardly extending lower portion in complementary juxtaposition therewith and an upper portion angled away therefrom and having an elongated rounded upper terminal surface with a rounded projection extending from the side thereof remote from said first connecting element and in the opposite direction from the projection extending from the first connecting element; fastening means connecting the lower portion of said second connecting element with the adjacent portion of said first connecting element for rigidly fastening said elements together; and slot means in the underside of the handrail for receiving and retaining the upper terminal portions of the connecting elements, said slot means coacting with said terminal portions to permit angular adjustment of the handrail before said fastening means is tightened to rigidly fasten said elements together, said connecting elements coacting with said slot means and said fastening means to hold said handrail in its adjusted angular position in fixed engagement with said post when said fastening means are tightened to rigidly fasten the elements together.

2. An ornamental railing as in claim 1 wherein said slot means comprises a T-shaped open channel, said channel being defined by a downwardly facing base wall and.

opposite side walls stepped to form a pair of laterally spaced opposing shoulders disposed in lower spaced relation to said base wall.

3. A railing as in claim 2 wherein the rounded projections extending from the sides of the connecting elements engage the opposed stepped side walls of said open channel upon tightening of said fastening means whereby said connecting elements coact with said slot means to hold said handrail in its adjusted angular position in fixed engagement with said post.

References Cited UNITED STATES lATENTS 3,071,350 1/1963 Opie 256- 3,157,378 11/1964 Blum 256-65 3,256,658 6/1966 Seery 256-67 FOREIGN PATENTS 254,671 9/ 1964 Australia. 686,309 5/1964 Canada.

DAVID J. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

D. L. TAYLOR, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN AN ORNAMENTAL RAILING HAVING A POST AND HANDRAIL CONNECTED THERETO, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: CONNECTING MEANS DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID HANDRAIL AND SAID POST AND COACTING WITH SAID HANDRAIL TO PERMIT ANGULAR ADJUSTMENT OF THE HANDRAIL AND TO RIGIDLY FIX THE HANDRAIL IN ADJUSTED POSITION WITH RESPECT TO THE POST, SAID CONNECTING MEANS COMPRISING, A FIRST CONNECTING ELEMENT ATTACHED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE POST AND HAVING AN ELONGATED ROUNDED UPPER TERMINAL SURFACE WITH A ROUNDED PROJECTION EXTENDING FROM ONE SIDE THEREOF; A SECOND CONNECTING ELEMENT DISPOSED BESIDE SAID FIRST CONNECTING ELEMENT, HAVING AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING LOWER PORTION IN COMPLEMENTARY JUXTAPOSITION THEREWITH AND AN UPPER PORTION ANGLED AWAY THEREFROM AND HAVING AN ELONGATED ROUNDED UPPER TERMINAL SURFACE WITH A ROUNDED PROJECTION EXTENDING FROM THE SIDE THEREOF REMOTE FROM SAID FIRST CONNECTING ELEMENT AND IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION FROM THE PROJECTION EXTENDING FROM THE FIRST CONNECTING ELEMENT; 